Oversized tires and a worn paint job mark the only obvious deviations from stock on this 1964 International Harvester Scout 80. The Littleton, Colorado classic runs, according to the listing here on eBay. At least three bidders have the diminutive off-roader’s market value over $2000 with about one day left.
Form follows function on the industrial-looking dashboard. The first shift lever selects your forward and reverse gear while the smaller ones select High or Low Range and two or four wheel drive, not necessarily in that order. A welding clamp should do a fine job of retaining the removable fiberglass top. One estimate suggests as many as 30% of this Vise Grip-style pliers serve humans in permanent installations. This lemon yellow shows the factory body color, which I vastly prefer to the orange and white.
This should be the 152 cid (2.5L) inline four cylinder making 92 HP and 142 lb-ft of torque (gross), not enough to bust a move on today’s soccer vans but easy to maintain and perfectly fine for rock crawling and leisurely road travel. Thanks to Automobile-Catalog for some details.
The listing skipped any decent picture of the vehicle’s front, so here’s one from a previous BarnFinds article, showing something closer to the Scout’s original color. The featured truck comes a replacement right quarter panel, the original radio and gas tank, and more.
Based on the listing we may surmise that the forward-facing rear seat is not bolted down. The Scout of this vintage from my youth had the Land-Rover style twin center-facing seats, which seemed a clever and efficient design, though I’m not sure how sideways passengers would fare in a crash. A single-ply stamped tailgate underscores the simplicity of these vehicles. Imagine the stories this cargo bay could tell after decades of transporting picnic baskets, fishing gear, and the occasional dead animal. Which is more likely to be driving in another 50 years: this Scout or today’s tech-laden 4x4s?
Fun write-up Todd. This Scout has surely served its previous owners well. I too wonder about its previous uses, such as the dead animal count. Great line about the clamp. Didn’t IH use this steering wheel on everything, including medium/heavy trucks?
My theory of “tech-laden 4×4’s” 50 years from now: they will be in salvage yards, not looking all that bad (thanks to advancements in rust prevention, better interior materials, etc.). But what will be their demise is the outrageous cost to replace this or that necessary electronic gizmo, if a working replacement can even be found. And the aftermarket for said gizmos will exist only for the most prevalent pieces that fail on the most prevalent models. So maybe a F-150 can be kept running, but good luck with a Rivian.
Thanks, Bob_in_TN. I agree 100% that we will have junk yards full of cars that *could* run but the cost of repairs make repair impractical. I have a 2006 BMW that would drive cross-country but it hasn’t been inspected in two years (ABS, Park, and SRS lights) and I’ve exhausted the simple / cheap possible fixes. I’ve bought a 1986 Fifth Avenue to replace it, which will probably outlast me. Single-computer cars from the late ’80s to mid ’00s are the sweet spot. After that, forget it. Happy motoring!
“Single-computer cars from the late ’80s to mid ’00s are the sweet spot.” Agree 💯 Fitch
You’re right on a number of things Bob. First off, that steering wheel was used in Tractor trailer trucks, school buses, pick ups, everything. And as for the super complex vehicles we have nowadays. You’re right. The cost to fix them even if its in cream puff condition just might total them. Imagine that, a few decades ago we
had rust place cars and trucks in junk yards with rotted frames, yep, we fixed that problem…… but…….. now we have another problem. I agree Todd, single computer cars and trucks are way more simpler.
BTW. Love this Scout!!!
I can confirm. I’ve got the same steering wheel in my ’63 Travelall.
Sometimes I think that something like this is the only way to go. Get one, fix it up and drive it. Have another one on hand that is ready to go at a moment’s notice, and have one in the shop undergoing a complete body-off maintenance program. I’m sure I could drive a Scout for the rest of my life, although I wouldn’t mind having the rest of the engine under that hood as well.
Of course I don’t know how well my better-half would go for that. I think she’d want an automatic.
I had an acquaintance in Cutbank who wanted to drive a mid-60s GM 3/4 ton for the rest of his life, so he kept the ’66 GMC, with it’s ugly 7.00 x 17 wheels, got another one nearly identical to the first one, including the ugly wheels, then got a ’65 Chevy that was pretty much the same. He kept one ready to go, one was in the shop getting work done, and he was driving the remaining one. I might add that he got his wish as he went to that fishing hole in the sky a couple of years ago. I understand that his SIL took (2) of the trucks.
Yes, geomechs, I understand that. My wife has a modern car, but after I ditch the outgoing ’06 BMW my newest vehicle will be the 1997 Jeep Wrangler that I’ll keep indefinitely. I drive the ’81 Imperial most. Instead of duplicates, I keep (too many) vehicles of different types around. If there’s two numbers I ignore, it’s the year of manufacture and the miles on the odometer. I only sell when I’m ready to move on. Cheers! -Todd
I agree since I have worked on Jeeps since 1993 and have seen the upgrades and modules put in them overs the years with causes in my opinion more problems down the road and having worked in the 2 independent shops for 12 years in between the dealerships have seen that the more complex there are you almost have to go to the dealership to get the newer ones repaired.
Well I agree with the conclusion that most of the commenters stated but for a far different reason: There will be beautiful hi-tech cars 20 years old that will be sitting dead, not for want of an engine or mechanical part, but due to an electronics failure. Few people know that the auto manufacturers have no set number of years requiring them to furnish replacement parts. With some of them today, parts are being discontinued after as little as seven years. Ford for example is only at ten years on average. When they discontinue electronic parts they won’t let a third party make them, because they copyright and refuse to release the firmware necessary to run on the chips. So your car is permanently dead. We need a right to reproduce law that addresses this, but every manufacturer would oppose it so congress is blind to the issue.
Auction has ended.
Bid to $5100 Reserve Not Met. Speaking only for myself, I’d want daily driver status to go much higher, maybe $7000 if it just did a long trip with no issues. Who is more crazy: me or the world?
In reference to the vise grips the top should bolt on. Maybe the grips are taking the place of missing bolts ?